


The Exceptional Client

by fogsblue



Category: Broadchurch, Secret Diary of a Call Girl (TV)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-16
Updated: 2013-03-16
Packaged: 2017-12-05 10:59:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/722314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fogsblue/pseuds/fogsblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alec was never going to be sure exactly what had made him contact the call girl. Hannah might never know why she'd agreed to take a cop as a client. But here they were.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Exceptional Client

**Author's Note:**

> There's only 2 episodes of Broadchurch out so far, this has no relation to anything but the character, really. It started as a ficlet and turned into something a little longer. Basically it was pointed out DI Alec Hardy needed to get laid. Belle de Jour seemed a good choice...

It had started a few days earlier….  
  
Though Alec was never going to be sure exactly what had made him contact Belle du Jour, and yes, he knew that wasn’t her name, he’d seen a picture of her and he’d been caught. Sure, there was resemblance to his late wife, which was enough to catch his attention but left him curious. Was it more than skin deep? But the thing that really stopped him, really captured his interest, was that she seemed to contain so much light for someone in a profession that carried such a dark reputation.  
  
When Belle agreed to meet him and add him to her select client list, for some reason he felt like he’d been given something special.  Alec wondered about this as he put on a clean suit before heading down to the hotel bar to meet her.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
For Belle, she had been surprised to be contacted by Alec Hardy, a potential client. A little research on her part had dug up a few details. Most weren’t important. The one that had left her with doubts was the fact he was a new DI, headed out to a small town called Broadchurch.  
  
She had rules about cops. Actually, she had one; no police, she didn’t need the hassle. However, she’d seen a picture of him and the story told by his face alone made her hesitate over the delete button on her email.  
  
As it turned out, it had caused her to do more than hesitate. Two days later and she was headed to the bar of a quiet hotel to meet the DI.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Broadchurch was not the kind of place Belle usually found herself. Most prospective clients preferred London, possibly because it was easier to get lost in the crowd in the city. A town like this, things got noticed, and talked about.  
  
But here she was. And there he was.  
  
Alec walked into the bar, feeling both nervous and completely calm. The nerves made sense, should anyone find out about this he would be out of a job before he could say ‘detective inspector’. The calm he wasn’t sure he understood. But as he neared Belle, seated calmly at the bar drinking something clear, quite likely just water, he felt a calm he hadn’t felt since he’d stood beside his wife’s last bed…. It didn’t matter.  
  
Tonight was about living, finding some relief in life.  
  
Belle might deny it to everyone she knew, her colleagues and friends, but she was more aware than ever when Alec walked into the bar where she waited. She didn’t get up and greet him like she might if she was his wife or girlfriend. And she didn’t wave him over as a friend, but she turned her head and watched.  
  
For reasons she couldn’t explain, she was reminding herself the DI was just a client.  
  
As Alec reached the bar he ordered water for himself and another of whatever Belle was drinking. From what he noticed, he was correct in his assumption it was just water. He imagined it helped her maintain a distance if she didn’t have alcohol clouding her judgement.  
  
He refused to look into the vague feeling that he wanted her to lose her carefully maintained distance.  
  
Hannah sipped her water and looked at Alec; she assessed him from the perspective of Belle. He was a client. She needed to know what he’d like, did he need an extra fantasy or was the illicitness of being with ‘Belle the call girl’ enough?  
  
She didn’t want to think about the fact that she felt he might be most content with Hannah.  
  
After a few minutes of small talk, Alec reached out to take Belle’s already extended hand. He was ready to lead her to his room, or maybe she was ready to lead him into a new experience.  
  
Belle wasn’t sure if she was leading him or if he was leading her. But by the time they reached the door to his room, they seemed to be oddly synchronised.  
  
Between Alec and Belle, very little was said, at least out loud. But the movements of their lips and hands said so much.  
  
‘I want to know what moves you,’ was asked by her lips as they traced a path below his navel.  
  
‘What motivates you to be Belle, I wonder,’ was asked by his hands as they moved across her chest.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Alec Hardy looked at the blonde below him; she was gorgeous, and bore a resemblance to his late wife. She expected nothing from him except the money he had already paid. He thrust harder, chasing his release and trying not to think about the fact that she intrigued him in ways that were much more than sexual.  
  
Belle du Jour watched the man above her, she had been hesitant to take the DI as a client, but something about his soulful eyes had drawn her in. There was pain and loss, but a hint of something more and she had the worrying urge to learn so much more about whom he was and what motivated him.  
  
His hand moved to where they were joined and stroked her, Belle shattered and cried out. Alec came moments later and collapsed to her side. It had been a long time since he'd felt anything like that, an almost simple joy in being alive.  
  
She turned to look at the broken man beside her and considered the possibility of him being fixed. Belle wondered why she wanted to know, and what it was that made her want to be there when he was. It might be that he made her feel like more than just her job description.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
When the morning came and Alec woke up, he felt more alive than he could remember.  
  
As he looked at the blonde sleeping in the bed next to him, he wondered if there was any chance he could convince her to stay, at least just a little longer. Maybe it was absurd, this thought that a call girl could offer him any real solace, but he didn’t feel as alone with her.  
  
Belle was surprised to wake up next to Alec, not because she didn’t remember, but because she didn’t normally _sleep_ next to clients.  
  
She blinked at the messy hair and sleepy eyes of the man next to her and questioned herself. She knew it was wrong to get invested in a client. But something about this man made her think that she wasn’t the only one who was looking for a bit more than a throw -away connection.  
  
The DI mustered his courage and Alec asked, “Would you like to join me for a tea?”  
  
The call girl smiled softly and Hannah answered, “I’d love too.”


End file.
